The Journey to Be Oneself - Essay Example

The Journey to Be OneselfBecoming oneself is a journey full of surprises and excitement as such it is considered by Fr. Lawton as one of the riskiest of all journeys. It is a journey to go to where ‘no man has gone before’ as such one encounters several risks along life’s journey. On a daily basis we are faced with the risk of living because to live is to risk dying, to love is to risk rejection and to succeed is to risk failure. Every thought, word or deed is surrounded by a cloud of uncertainty.

Although we are made up of spirit, soul and body, we live in a world where we must interact with like beings. We are therefore social beings. Thus, we take a risk every time we express our opinion because in so doing we expose ourselves to the possible ridicule of other social beings. However, in the journey to become ourselves we must be willing to stay true to who we are becoming and not allow others to dictate who we should become. In making the decision to become ourselves we run the risk of losing contact with many of the other social beings who would rather we conform to their standard of living.

The ‘journey to be oneself’ seems to be a journey filled with securities and insecurities, positivity and negativity, joy and sorrow, highs and lows. It is the journey that we all face on a daily basis. Interestingly, the journey begins from birth, therefore we cannot escape. Although we are surrounded by family and friends throughout our lives the only person who can assist you in becoming yourself is you. In other words, in spite of our genealogy and our immediate environment the depth, the scope, the height of who we are or who we can ever become depends on us.

In my college career perhaps the greatest risk is the risk of losing my identity in the midst of all my new experiences. Would I remain true to who I am and in spite of possible rejection or negative feedback? Would I be able to remain true to myself regardless of the circumstance? Another risk is the lack of inner strength or fortitude to say no to what I do not wish to become. I believe that this struggle to maintain my ‘no’ in the midst of incentive and endearing factors is another major risk.

The struggle that ensues when one decides against conformity could be a bitter one but I intend to end this journey by becoming me and not some other being. A third risk is the risk of failure to remain true to myself and true to what I am capable of doing. I know there may be times when I will be confronted with failure and rejection of my mental capability. I therefore must fight to remain true to who I am presently and who I am becoming in this new and exciting adventure in the academic arena.

I believe that my struggle would be to maintain my objectivity about my mental capacity. My academic output is by no means all of who I am. It is but a drop in the ocean of all of me. Therefore, I choose now and would choose then to love me in spite of intellectual failure, emotional and social neglect or rejection and remain true to who I am in God, the one who created me to be.